2000
#2,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,093
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.48
Uncommon Last name
Carrington
A locational surname referring to someone from any of various places called Carrington, meaning "estate of Cara's people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,855 Americans carry the last name Carrington. That puts it at #2,907 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,739 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Carrington surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Carrington with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,739
Census rank
#2,907
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,082 bearers of the surname Carrington in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2907th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Carrington, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.5%. The next largest groups are White (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Carrington
The surname Carrington has its origins in England, first appearing in historical records during the late 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words 'cær' meaning rock or tor, and 'ing' meaning a meadow or enclosure, combined to form a place name meaning 'the enclosure by the rocks or rocky place'.
This surname is closely associated with the town of Carrington in Nottinghamshire, where it is thought to have originated as a territorial name for someone who lived near this location. The earliest known record of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mentions a William de Carrington.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the village of Carrington is referred to as 'Cauringa'. This further supports the theory that the surname evolved from this place name over time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Carrington surname was Sir John Carrington, who lived from around 1240 to 1300. He was a prominent landowner and knight in Nottinghamshire during the reign of King Edward I.
Another notable figure was Thomas Carrington, born in 1551, who was an English politician and Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the surname gained prominence with Lord Carrington, also known as Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington (1675-1738), who was an English nobleman and politician. He served as a member of the House of Commons and held the title of Baron Carrington of Bulcot Lodge.
During the 19th century, Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington (1808-1886) was a British soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of New South Wales in Australia from 1855 to 1861.
Another notable figure was Dora Carrington (1893-1932), an English painter and decorative artist associated with the Bloomsbury Group, a collective of writers, artists and intellectuals in London.
Other historical references to the Carrington name include various places and landmarks, such as Carrington Castle in Midlothian, Scotland, and the town of Carrington in North Dakota, United States, which was named after Lord Carrington in the 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carrington
Among Census respondents with the surname Carrington, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.5%. The next largest groups are White (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Carrington bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Carrington surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American46.5% · 5,614
- White43.4% · 5,243
- Two or more races5.1% · 611
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 496
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Carrington
Carrington appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,706
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,320
+1,227 bearers (+10.1%)
Per 100,000 4.52
Rank movement Up 35 places
2020
#2,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,082
-1,238 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 4.04
Rank movement Down 201 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,741 | 12,093 | 4.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,706 | 13,320 | 4.52 | +1,227 bearers (+10.1%) | Up 35 places |
| 2020 | #2,907 | 12,082 | 4.04 | -1,238 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 201 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Carrington surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,706 | #2,907 | -7.4% |
| Count | 13,320 | 12,082 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.52 | 4.04 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Carrington bearers went from 13,320 to 12,082 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 201 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,706 to #2,907.
FAQ
Carrington surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Carrington?
Name Census estimates that about 13,855 living Americans carry the surname Carrington. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,739 residents.
How common is Carrington?
Carrington ranks #2,907 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,082 people with the surname Carrington. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,855), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Carrington.
Has Carrington become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Carrington went from 13,320 recorded bearers to 12,082. That is a decrease of 1,238 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,706 to #2,907.
What does the Census say about the background of Carrington?
Among Census respondents with the surname Carrington, the largest self-reported group is Black at 46.5%. The next largest groups are White (43.4%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Carrington in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.5% (5,614 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Carrington appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (46.5%), White (43.4%), Two or More Races (5.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Carrington (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Carrington mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from any of various places called Carrington, meaning "estate of Cara's people." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Carrington (4.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Carrington?
Find out how common the surname Carrington is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.